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This is something everyone struggles with, whether you’re a bikini body champion or a newbie to the whole gym-routine thing. But, how you handle negative self talk and comparisons it is what makes all the difference in how it affects you mentally and physically. If you let it, this health-sabotaging mentality can ruin your own efforts. So, how do you overcome it?

Get to Know Yourself

The best way to see through your comparisons is to get to know yourself. When you know what your body needs, what goals are actually attainable, and what you should be putting into your body to get there, you can better focus on you and stop focusing on others.

How can you get this all-seeing view of yourself? Set up appointments with a personal trainer, a nutritionist and your doctor; all but the doctor often offer discounted prices for first-time consultations.

With the personal trainer: Find out where you’re already strong and where you can improve. What can you do to get to where you want to be, workout-wise? A personal trainer can perform a physical assessment and help you come up with a plan.

With a Nutritionist: With so much information available to us, it’s nearly impossible to decide what’s healthy, what isn’t and what your body needs exactly. A nutritionist can give you information based on your body and what you need.

With a Doctor: Your doctor can give you a quick assessment to help determine things like your BMI, and healthy weight for your height. You can also get your blood tested to see where your nutritional levels are. Be sure to check triglycerides and B12, and get a comprehensive metabolic panel.

Make Your Comparison Logical

If you’re going to compare yourself to someone else, which you should try to avoid at all times, make it a logical comparison. Let’s say you’re a healthy person, you eat a relatively clean diet and you workout 4 to 5 days a week. But, you’re comparing yourself to a bikini body model. Consider:

As a competitor in bikini competitions, the person you’re comparing yourself to is likely working out for at least 2 hours a day and has a financial stake in their health. While you do too, theirs is different and therefore they have to make different sacrifices.

As a competitor in bikini competitions, this other person likely doesn’t enjoy beer or wine with coworkers after a long day, an indulgent dinner at their favorite restaurant or long nights with friends. However, you may do some or most of those things, all of which make the life you live happy and enjoyable.

When you do the logical comparison, it’s easy to see that you can’t even begin to compare the two of you because you lead two completely different lives; therefore your bodies, regiments and results look very different.

Have a Mantra

A mantra helps to keep your mind focused on the positive not the negative. For example you could say to yourself:

I am me, and me is enough.

There is no comparison.

I will do what I can to be the best version of me

Your mantra should have a positive affirmation and focus on you, not anyone else.

Surround Yourself by Healthy People

Not just in person. While it’s important to be physically surrounded by happy people who are healthy role models, think about your social networks and everyday life. If you’re friends with people who like to flaunt their body and physical gains on Instagram or Facebook, and it’s a trigger for your comparisons and negative self-talk, stop following that person.

If you know you’re your own worst competition, and comparisons keep you from attaining the goals that are right for you, it’s time to make a change. Whether you stop following accounts that give you a negative body image, or add some logic to your irrational comparisons, find a way to overcome it for yourself and your health.

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